Nadal Back to No. 1 After Reaching Beijing Final

Beijing — Rafael Nadal was assured of taking the No. 1 ranking from Novak Djokovic after advancing to the final of the China Open on Saturday when Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic retired with a back injury.

The Spaniard was a break up at 4-2 in the opening set of their semifinal when Berdych retired soon after taking an injury timeout.

Djokovic, the defending champion, earned a comfortable 6-4, 6-2 victory over fifth-seeded Frenchman Richard Gasquet in the other semifinal.

Even if he loses to Djokovic in the final today, Nadal will still sit atop the rankings.

In the women’s draw, top-ranked Serena Williams and Jelena Jankovic of Serbia advanced to the final with contrasting wins. Serena earned a straight-forward 6-2, 6-2 victory over Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland while Jankovic rallied for a 6-7 (7), 6-1, 6-1 win over Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic.

NFL Football

Obama Open to Name Change For Redskins

Washington — President Obama said that if he owned the Washington Redskins, he would “think about changing” the team name, wading into the controversy over a football nickname that many people deem offensive to Native Americans.

Obama, in an interview with The Associated Press, said team names like the Redskins offend “a sizable group of people.” He said that while fans get attached to the nicknames, nostalgia may not be a good enough reason to keep them in place.

“I don’t know whether our attachment to a particular name should override the real legitimate concerns that people have about these things,” he said in the interview, which was conducted Friday.

An avid sports fan himself, Obama said he doesn’t think Washington football fans are purposely trying to offend American Indians. “I don’t want to detract from the wonderful Redskins fans that are here. They love their team and rightly so,” he said.

But the president appeared to come down on the side of those who have sharply criticized the football team’s name, noting that Indians “feel pretty strongly” about mascots and team names that depict negative stereotypes about their heritage.

All three judges ruled 119-104 for Klitschko (61-3). Povetkin lost for the first time in 27 fights.

Soccer

United Ends Skid

London — Belgian teenager Adnan Januzaj scored twice in his first start for Manchester United, rallying the Red Devils to a 2-1 win at last-place Sunderland on Saturday that avoided their first three-game Premier League losing streak since December 2001.

After losses against Manchester City and West Bromwich Albion, United fell behind in the fifth minute when Nemanja Vidic’s poor clearance attempt went into the path of Craig Gardner, who beat goalkeeper David De Gea.

In its first season since David Moyes replaced Alex Ferguson as manager, United (3-3-1) is ninth with 10 points.

Liverpool (5-1-1) moved back into first place with a 3-1 win over Crystal Palace on goals by Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge plus a penalty kick by Steven Gerrard, his 99th Premier League goal.

Second-place Arsenal (5-1) plays at West Bromwich Albion today. Manchester City (4-2-1) is third after beating Everton 3-1 and sending the Toffees (3-1-3) to their first loss. Alvaro Negredo and Sergio Aguero scored, and Tim Howard had an own goal when he tipped Aguero’s penalty kick off a post and the ball bounced in off the American goalkeeper.

Revs Settle for Draw

Harrison, n.j. — Tim Cahill’s header in the final seconds of stoppage time lifted New York to a 2-2 draw with the New England Revolution, clinching a n MLS playoff berth for the Red Bulls.

New England (11-11-9) trailed, 1-0 until the last five minutes, getting a penalty kick from Lee Nguyen in the 85th minute and a breakaway goal from Diego Fagundez in the 90th.

During the closing seconds of stoppage time, Jonathan Steele lifted a free kick from the left side toward the goal for the Red Bulls (15-9-8) and Revolution keeper Matt Reis punched the ball in the air. Cahill headed it high from the middle of the box into the net for the tie.